Worthy of the Harmony (Mountains & Men Book 2) (11 page)

I’m being quite the silent bitch, but I don’t care.

I won’t bother reading into
why
I feel the need to stake any sort of claim over him, either. He’s not my boyfriend.

Kathy
clears her throat, standing upright as she picks up two menus. “Right this way.”

We’re seated on the edge of the room, at a table for two, and she leaves us with not another word.

“Friend of yours?” I ask, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Not really.” He nods to the narrow menu in the middle of the table. “You like wine, right?”

“Yes.”

“Pick one. I’ll have whatever you have.”

“Okay.” I pick up the menu and scan the list before it occurs to me—“I assume you'll be having pasta?” He nods once, smirking at me. He hasn't even bothered to look at the food options. “What kind of sauce?”

“I like a mix of marinara and alfredo.”

“Hmmm,” I hum, perusing the list once more. When I've decided what wine I think would pair well with my usual order and, apparently, his usual, I fold the menu closed and set it down. Before Sage can ask me what I'm ordering, our waiter arrives. He starts to introduce himself, but then pauses when he recognizes Sage.

“Hey! What's up, man? Surprised to see you here. Oh, I was at The Wash last time you and the guys performed. You sounded pretty damn sick!”

Sage looks from the yet-to-be-named waiter, to me. It's only a quick glance, but I can tell by the regret in his eyes that when he thinks about that night, it's not the show that immediately comes to mind, but what happened after.

“Thanks, Jacob.”

“Does Rosemary know you're here?” he asks, craning his neck as he looks around the room.

“Shit,” Sage murmurs under his breath.

I sit up straighter, remembering the last time I had a run in with Sage’s younger sister. To say that I’m not really prepared to meet the woman who saw me naked just a few days ago would be an understatement. When Sage starts looking around the room as well, I step on his foot underneath the table, demanding his attention. His eyes are on me in an instant.

“Your
sister
works here?”

Jacob snorts. “His whole—”

“Can it, Jake,” Sage mutters, his gaze still locked with mine. “And get us some water while you're at it, will you?”

Jacob leaves without a word. Considering Sage's rude dismissal, I'm sure the expression on his face is doing all the talking, but I don't see it. I refuse to take my eyes off of the icy blue ones they are focused on now.

“
Sage?
”

“
Millicent?
”

“No. Don’t. Don’t do that.” I narrow my eyes at him, and all at once, I begin to piece a few suspicious clues together. His initial reaction to my suggestion of this place. His familiarity with the staff. His awareness of the menu. “You're hiding something. Something bigger than the fact that your sister works here. What is it?”

He doesn't answer me at first. Just when he opens his mouth to speak, a pair of arms fling around his chest and an absolutely stunning face appears on his shoulder. I know who she is without an introduction. I’ve never actually
seen
Rosemary, a completely humiliating thought, but you could spot the family resemblance between her and her brother in the blink of an eye.

“Holy shit! I
cannot
believe you’re here! Mom and dad—”

Sage twists around just enough to clap a hand over her mouth. “Tell them I’m here, and I won’t speak to you for a month. Do you hear me, Rosy?
A month.
”

“What the
fuck?
” The words tumble from my lips of their own accord. I didn’t mean to say them, but I’m having a hard time keeping myself together. If I’m understanding them correctly—“Your
parents
work here?”

“What the hell, Sage,” Rosemary blurts out, pulling his hand away from her face. “You didn’t tell her?” Again, he opens his mouth to speak, but she looks at me and steals his chance to explain. “Our parents own this place. Mom’s the executive chef. Giuseppe was our great-grandfather’s name.”

Sage groans, tilting his head back as he looks up at the ceiling. “
Fuck
—Rosemary,
stop talking!
”

“What?” she asks innocently. “There’s no need to be shy about it. I’m Rosemary, by the way,” she says, offering me her hand. “You can call me Rose. I’ve heard so much about you.” Her cheeks fill with color and I have a guess where her mind just went. “Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

I feel like I can’t breathe. My eyes dart from Rosemary’s outstretched hand, to her face, to Sage’s face, then back to Rosemary. I don’t know what triggers my brain to shake her hand, but I do. She beams at me, but all I can think about is the fact that Sage’s parents are somewhere in this restaurant and I can’t do this! I can’t meet his parents. I’m the woman their son is sleeping with, not the woman he’s meant to bring home.

Home. God, I barely even understand what that word means to
me
, let alone what it means to Sage and his family.

And don’t even get me started on the concept of
family.

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask him, dropping his sister’s hand.

“Hey.” He leans across the table and brushes his knuckles down my cheek. “Breathe, baby doll.” I bat his hand away, but he catches my fingers and holds onto them. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wouldn’t have brought you here if you hadn’t told me it was your favorite. I didn’t know Rosy would be here. I thought we could be in and out without anyone even knowing.”

“I won’t tell them that you’re here,” Rosemary promises. “But…”

“But what?” asks Sage. Just like earlier with Jacob, he doesn’t look at Rosemary as he addresses her. Instead, his focus stays locked on me.

“Well, if you order your usual, mom will know.”

“Sage,” I barely manage, shaking my head as I try pulling my fingers out of his grasp.

“Don’t you fucking dare, doll face.” He laces his fingers with mine and then stands to his feet. “How do you feel about burgers? There’s this place down the block—”

I’m on my feet in an instant, willing to go anywhere that will get me out of here.

“You’re really leaving?” asks Rosemary, obviously disappointed.

“I haven’t stepped foot in this place in almost two years. I’m only here because of Millie, and if she doesn’t want to stay, I’m not staying.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

I watch her shoulders sag and I see the compassion in her eyes as she stares up at her brother. Somehow I know that the love they share is deep and wide, their bond thick and impenetrable. I’ll never know a sister’s love like that. Hell—not even my mother loves me like that.

“Call me later?”

“Tomorrow,” he assures her, playfully placing a hand on top of her head and messing up her hair before he leads me out.

He doesn’t say a word as he guides me down the sidewalk, heading to grab a burger, I suppose. At first, I’m not sure what to say. I can’t tell if I’m angry, irritated, or curious. This is not at all how I thought our evening would transpire. A couple minutes ago, I felt completely blindsided; but the more distance that is put between us and Giuseppe’s, the more my anxiety dissipates. After another moment of silence, it’s my curiosity that begs me to speak.

“If you didn’t want to go there, why didn’t you tell me?”

He coughs out a humorless laugh as he looks over at me. “Do you realize how long I’ve been trying to get you to go on a date with me? I wasn’t going to argue with you about where you wanted to go.”

“But your family’s restaurant? You could have said something.”

“I know. God, I know,” he groans. He stops walking and pulls me into his arms. “I’m sorry. I fucked up, okay? Can we
please
just forget the last fifteen minutes and start over? You look hot and there’s no way in hell I’m taking you home without feeding you.” He arches a brow at me suggestively. “You’ll need the sustenance for energy.”

I bite my lip in an attempt to hide my smile, appreciative of the fact that the flirty, arrogant little shit is back. Am I ready to meet his parents?
Fuck no.
But that wasn’t his intent. If what he said to Rosemary is true, then he was making a sacrifice for me tonight. Just like the surprise visit and the cinnamon swirl coffee cake, this is gesture that I cannot overlook. With his arms wrapped around me, keeping me close, I realize that I’m not ready for him to take me home, either. Being here with him is the only place I want to be right now.

“Do these burgers come with fries?” I ask, gripping a fist full of his shirt in order to pull him even closer. “Because I
love
fries.”

“I’ll buy you all the fries you can eat, baby doll,” he assures me, sealing his word with a kiss.

MILLICENT WASN’T KIDDING
about her love for fries. I finish my burger before my fries and she finishes her fries before her burger. When I spot her eyeing my basket, I chuckle and then switch them. She smiles at me from across the table and I offer her a smirk as I pick up her half eaten sandwich.

Words can’t express how relieved I am to see the light in her pretty, dark green eyes. After what happened at Giuseppe’s, I thought for sure I’d be in deep shit. The look on her face when Rosy told her that not only did our parents own her favorite restaurant, but they were also in the building, it about put me in straight up panic mode. Thank fuck I got her out of there and, as far as I can tell, she’s having a good time.

We steer clear of any heavy topics of conversation as we talk about a bunch of random shit. She tells me more about her job and I tell her more about the band. We talk about the places we’ve been and, surprisingly, neither of us are very well traveled. Of course, I dream of seeing the world—singing at venues in every country. She admits that she aspires to visit Russia; that she longs to see the land in which some of her favorite novels are set, even if it’s a more modern representation than what she’s read. I’m not at all surprised to learn that she’s a fan of classic literature, just as she’s not surprised that I am not.

When we’ve finished with our meal, I dispose of our trash and meet her at the door. I approach slowly, taking her in for the dozenth time since she answered her door at the beginning of the night. Her dress reminds me of every delicate curve on her body and accentuates her long-ass legs and her perfect ass. I know mine isn’t the only cock that stirs at the sight of her. Every guy in this joint has checked her out, but I can tell she hasn’t noticed.

She has no idea how fucking gorgeous she is.

“Let’s get out of here,” I tell her, securing my arm around her waist.

As we start our walk back to my car, she grows quiet. I wonder what she’s thinking, and I’m about to ask when she finally speaks.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah,” I reply with a shrug.

She looks at me as she reaches up to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. “You said that you hadn’t been to Giuseppe’s in almost two years. Does that mean you haven’t seen your parents in just as long?”

“Nah,” I reply. “We see each other. I have my pride, but I’m not an asshole. I show up for holidays and birthdays.”

She nods and I can tell she wants to know more, but she doesn’t ask. After the way she shut down on me in the car when I asked her about New Jersey, I’m smart enough to figure out that she has no desire to talk about whatever beef exists between her and her parents—but I have no issue with being honest. Truth is, the rocky relationship I have with my mom and dad is just further proof that I’m chasing after a dream and I’m not going to let anyone or anything stop me.

“Remember how I told you my sisters and I all got cars for our sixteenth birthdays?” She hums her affirmation, the look in her eyes communicating that I’ve got her full attention. “Well, that’s also when we had to start working at Giuseppe’s. They wanted to teach us about the value of a dollar and all that; plus, they weren’t about to pay for our gas to drive everywhere. Anyway, Pepper worked there until her sophomore year of college, until she found an internship in her field of study. I dipped as soon as I graduated high school. Moved out and everything.

“Our relationship was a little strained after that, but I still hung around. Then a year and a half later, when I decided I was done with college, they lost their shit.” I shake my head, remembering that conversation—if you could even call it that. It was mostly them yelling at me and telling me I was ruining my future. “To this day, they still believe I’m wasting my talent.”